Abstract
The homogeneous and repeated data coverage over coastal regions from satellite radar altimetry is one important data source for oceanographic and geodetic applications. However, the sea surface heights (SSH) extracted from the altimeter data are often in error close to the coast, due in part to the complex nature of echoes returned from rapidly varying coastal topographic surfaces (both land and sea) and the generally rougher sea state. This paper presents improved SSH results derived from ERS-2 altimeter waveform data (two cycles of 35-day repeat orbit, March to May 1999) near the Australian coast using a coastal retracking system. This system was developed based upon a systematic and comprehensive analysis of return waveforms. Central to the system is the use of two retracking techniques: the iterative least squares fitting and the threshold retracking algorithms. Using the AUSGeoid98 geoid grid as a quasi-independent ground reference and comparing with a broad contaminated distance of ∼10 km obtained from a previous study before retracking, the use of the retracking system is able to reduce this contaminated distance to ∼5 km. However, improved SSH data cannot be recovered by waveform retracking less than ∼5 km from the coastline due to predominant land returns in the waveform range window.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Anzenhofer, M., C.K. Shum and M. Renstch (2000). Coastal Altimetry and Applications, Ohio State University Geodetic Science and Surveying Report.
Brooks, R.L., D.W. Lockwood and J.E. Lee (1997) Land Effects on TOPEX Radar Altimeter Measurements on Pacific Rim Coastal Zones, http://topex.wff.nasa.gov/does [on line].
Brown, G.S. (1977). The Average Impulse Response of a Rough Surface and Its Applications, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, AP-25(1), pp. 67–74.
Chelton, D.B., J.C. Ries, B.J. Haines, L.-L. Fu and P.S. Callahan (2001). Satellite Altimetry, in: Satellite Altimetry and Earth Sciences: A Handbook of Techniques and Applications, Fu, L.-L. and A. Cazenave, (eds.), Academic Press, San Diego, USA, pp. 1–132.
Davis, C.H. (1995). Growth of the Greenland Ice Sheet: A Performance Assessment of Altimeter Retracking Algorithms, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 33(5), pp. 1108–1116.
Davis, C.H. (1997). A Robust Threshold Retracking Algorithm for Measuring Ice-Sheet Surface Elevation Change from Satellite Radar Altimeter, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 35(4), pp. 974–979.
Deng, X., W.E. Featherstone, C. Hwang and P.A.M. Berry (2001). Retracking ERS-2 Radar Altimeter Waveform Data in Australia’s Coastal Zone, Proceedings of the IAG 2001 Scientific Assembly, Budapest, Hungary, September [CD-ROM].
Deng, X., W.E. Featherstone, C. Hwang and P.A.M. Berry (2002). Estimation of Contamination of ERS-2 and POSEIDON Satellite Radar Altimetry Close to the Coasts of Australia, Marine Geodesy, 25(4), pp. 249–271.
Featherstone, W.E., J.F. Kirby, A.H.W. Kearsley, J.R. Gilliland, G.M. Johnston, J. Steed, R. Forsberg and M.G. Sideris (2001) The AUSGeoid98 Geoid Model of Australia: Data Treatment, Computations and Comparisons with GPS-Levelling Data, Journal of Geodesy, 75, pp. 313–330.
Hwang, C. (2003). Personal Communication, National Chiao-Tung University, Taiwan.
Levitus, S., G.I. Monterey and T. Boyer (1997) Seasonal Variability of Dynamic Height and Its Fourier Analysis, NOAA NESDIS Atlas 15, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., USA.
Martin, T.V., H.J. Zwally, A.C. Brenner and R.A. Bind-schadler (1983). Analysis and Retracking of Continental Ice Sheet Radar Altimeter Waveforms, Journal of Geophysical Research, 88(C3), pp. 1608–1616.
Mantripp, D. (1996). Radar Altimetry, in: The Determination of Geophysical Parameters from Space, Fancey, N. E., Gardiner, I.D. and Gardiner, R.A. (eds.), Institute of Physics Publishing, London, UK, pp. 119–171.
Wingham, D.J., C.G. Rapley and H. Griffiths, (1986). New Techniques in Satellite Tracking Systems, Proceedings of IGARSS’86 Symposium, Zürich, September, pp. 1339–1344.
Zwally, H.J. (1996). The GSFC Retracking Algorithms, http://icesat4.gsfc.nasa.gov/, [on line].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Deng, X., Featherstone, W. (2005). Improved Determination of Sea Surface Heights Close to the Australian Coast from ERS-2 Satellite Radar Altimetry. In: Sansò, F. (eds) A Window on the Future of Geodesy. International Association of Geodesy Symposia, vol 128. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27432-4_54
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27432-4_54
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-24055-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-27432-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)